


Irreplaceable

by Calamity_Hero_Awakens



Series: Our Hearts Always Remember [3]
Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Genre: Anger, Backstory, Battle, Blood and Injury, Feels, Fights, Fluff, Gen, Hybrids, Jealousy, Minor Character Death, Monsters, Resentment, Sad, Tags Are Hard, but only for a second, idk it's just extra content, if you really squint I guess - Freeform, snarky Ghirahim as always
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2020-04-28
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:28:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,547
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23893078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Calamity_Hero_Awakens/pseuds/Calamity_Hero_Awakens
Summary: Ever wonder how Ghirahim got that cut across his face?*Takes place between chapters "A Royal Rival" and "Late Night Obfuscation" of "My Past Is Our Present"*
Relationships: Ghirahim/Link (Legend of Zelda)
Series: Our Hearts Always Remember [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1722064
Comments: 3
Kudos: 32





	Irreplaceable

**Author's Note:**

> Tagging this Ghirahim/Link because it technically is and it’s a part of my other story, but also tagging this as Gen because it doesn’t focus on the relationship.

The rain was pouring, but Ghirahim knew that it would be. Since the demon lord and hero had begun the journey to Zora’s Domain, it had poured. Of course, ascending the mountain had been simple - he had only to snap and then he was there, but he made sure to keep a safe distance from the peak of Ploymus Mountain. The last time Ghirahim had visited the mountain had been over a century before and a dreaded creature hadn’t taken up residence there. Unfortunately, he would have to visit the monster’s domain.

The Zora prince had informed the sword spirit of a Lynel who possessed shock arrows, though he had advised against gathering the materials that way.

“The closest place to acquire the arrows would be on Ploymus Mountain, but it will be extremely dangerous. I do not recommend traveling up there, as there are many other places in Hyrule that sell shock arrows,” Sidon had said, and Ghirahim wondered why he had even told him about the Lynel in the first place if he was so concerned for the hero’s safety.

Trekking up the slippery wet path on the mountain, the water soaking into the white material of his clothing, Ghirahim silently seethed. Everything the prince had said about Link swirled around in his head, fueling his rage.

_“...I will need the aid of Link. So technically speaking, he is currently the most important matter that needs tending to.”_

“He is not yours to dote over,” Ghirahim grumbled to himself at the memory of Sidon’s words.

_“Ah, that is where my assistance will be required.”_

“He does not require your assistance. _I_ am his assistant.”

_“The armour is not incomplete. I have finished it myself, using my own scales.”_

“Why would he want to wear such a foolish piece of clothing?”

_“Once all is said and done, I plan to thank him personally.”_

That thought nearly had Ghirahim stopping in his tracks. “You will do no such thing!” he had yelled, and still the prince had persisted. Why was it so thoroughly difficult for that thick headed Zora to realize that the golden haired Hylian was his? The hero’s spirit had chosen him countless years before, so how could the prince possibly think that would change? That inferior Zora was nothing compared to the mighty figure of Ghirahim, and he was a consummate fool if he thought otherwise.

Forcing his feet to move up the path with an unnecessary amount of force, Ghirahim continued his ascension of the mountain. His anger was what pushed him forward. That impudent prince might have told him where to find the shock arrows, but he didn’t see him assisting Link in getting them, now did he? No, because Ghirahim was the one who assisted the hero.

Finally at the top of the mountain, the terrain leveled off at a grassy area, trees lining a path across the field that led even further up. With all the rain, pools of water had formed across the field, making the grass unnecessarily difficult to traverse.

Surveying the field with his sharp eyes, it wasn’t difficult to find the dreaded beast as he wandered the area, keeping a lookout on his domain. Ghirahim scoffed once he caught sight of the creature. It was a simple red-maned Lynel, a minor nuisance at best. His first master had possessed a much more daunting presence than that simple-minded creature. Hell, his second master was more dangerous in battle than this monster.

Conjuring his Demon Tribe sword, Ghirahim leisurely revealed himself on the rain-soaked battlefield. The dumb creature continued to wander, not even taking notice of the demon lord’s presence.

“Moronic beast,” Ghirahim said to himself, not at all quiet, and that finally got the Lynel’s attention. Turning to face him, the hybrid creature realized that its territory had been invaded and let out a deep bellow in anger.

“Think you’re intelligent enough to take me on?” Ghirahim rhetorically asked before the two launched into battle.

With a tight grip on its sword, the Lynel ran forward, swinging low at the demon. Unfortunately for it, Ghirahim was much smarter and faster, jumping back long before the blow could land. The monster began circling him, studying the skilled sword spirit with its wild, animalistic eyes. Settling on a next move, the red and brown creature sheathed its sword, lowering itself to the ground before charging Ghirahim. Just as it went to trample him, the demon gracefully jumped to the side, grabbing a fistful of the flaming red hair as it passed and hauling himself up onto its back. Enraged, the Lynel began bucking like a horse, its arms flailing in an attempt to grab him but failing miserably.

Perched on the monster’s back, Ghirahim kept a tight hold on its hair and wrapped his legs around it as best he could as he drove the thin blade of his sword into the back of its neck repeatedly, tearing angered shrieks from its throat. Eventually the force of its jerky movements became too much and he released his grip, flawlessly backflipping off of the Lynel.

The unexpected attack, while injuring the beast, mostly just enraged it further. Grabbing his bow from his back, the large monstrosity grabbed a few arrows and took aim. With its anger blinding it, dodging the shock arrows was simple.

Unfortunately Ghirahim hadn’t remembered to account for the water puddles.

As the shock arrows dug into the drowned grass beneath the water, an intense jolt shot through the demon’s body. His nerves felt as if they were being fried and his muscles constricted, making him drop his sword. Momentarily frozen in place, Ghirahim’s body jerked and shook as the electric current passed through him. He hadn’t even been hit directly but his body ached with the aftershocks of the impact. When he finally regained control of his body, he wasted no time in stooping to pick up his sword, keeping his eyes locked the monster so he couldn’t be ambushed.

After having been indirectly shocked, Ghirahim found it surprising that Link had been able to endure such a thing. He had been directly hit more than once but he had forced himself to keep going. A deeper respect for the hero formed within him but he knew that he would have to dwell on it later; now was not the time.

The Lynel ran up from the front, pausing when it was directly in front of him, and Ghirahim was surprised by its actions until he realized its true intentions. Lifting its sword above its head, both hands gripping the handle tightly, the creature brought it down with full force. Ghirahim knew that the force was more than likely enough to snap the blade of his sword, so he did the only thing he could think of in the mere seconds he had to think of a plan.

Throwing two fingers up, Ghirahim caught the blade of the Lynel’s sword in-between the tips of them. The monster seemed shocked then angry, using its entire body weight as leverage to push against its weapon. Keeping the blade from sliding between his fingers was an extremely difficult task; if he lost his grip, the sword would slip and cut off an entire section of his hand, including two of his fingers. Dropping the blade in his free hand, Ghirahim pushed against the back of his hand, trying to force away the weapon that was slowly encroaching on his space. He struggled for only a moment before the words the prince had said - “I plan to thank him personally” - sounded in his head for the umpteenth time and his anger fueled him once more.

Thrusting the blade away from his face, Ghirahim saw red as he grabbed his sword again, conjuring a second one before thrusting them into the Lynel’s chest. Screaming out, the creature swung its sword, catching the right half of Ghirahim’s face and tearing open his thick, nearly impenetrable skin. Being in such close proximity to the monster, the livid sword spirit had expected the blow and didn’t so much as flinch as his skin ripped open. As he thrusted his blades into the writhing animal, it let out a scream of pain; Ghirahim might have been enjoying himself a little too much, but he couldn’t remember the last time he had gotten to take out his anger and frustration in such a manner.

With the way he was slashing at the Lynel, literal chunks of its flesh were ripped out, the disgusting mess hitting the sopping ground with a disgusting squelch. The pouring rain quickly washed the blood away from the gushing wounds, dying the grass a deep crimson. Still putting up a fight, the Lynel swung aimlessly; as the muscles of its chest became visible, it was obvious that it was fighting to stay alive, let alone continue battling. Having blindly dropped its weapon, its clawed hands swung around, one of them catching the blue diamond that hung suspended from Ghirahim’s ear, tearing the jewel out.

The demon lord cursed loudly at the pain before thrusting both of his swords through the thick muscles of the Lynel’s chest, piercing its thundering heart. Ripping the blades out of its body, Ghirahim watched as it collapsed to the ground, a bleeding, disgusting mess. Its muscles twitched every now and then, but the fighting spirit had faded from its eyes and it quickly bled out.

Panting heavily from his battle, Ghirahim snapped and his swords disappeared. Feeling something warm drip onto the exposed skin of his arm, his hand drifted up to his ear. Having the earring pulled from it had ripped open the hole and the wound bled steadily. Using the little strength he had left, he pulled off one of his soiled gloves and quickly healed the wound; it ached, but he knew it would be fine.

A sense of panic ignited in him as he pulled his glove back on. Where was his earring? The brute had ripped it out, but where had it gone? Searching the soaking wet battlefield, Ghirahim saw something glimmer a few feet away. On tired feet, he raced over and dropped to his knees. As he got closer to the ground, he saw that the diamond had been shattered. Several large pieces rested close together, a few smaller ones laying in a nearby puddle.

“No, no no no,” Ghirahim said to himself, tears forming in the back of his eyes. “It can’t be broken.”

Reverently picking up the pieces, Ghirahim set them in his palm, holding them carefully so no more damage would befall them. Several of the pieces were large, but a large portion of the gem had splintered into tiny pieces. The distressed demon took his time gathering them, making sure to get them all.

“Please, no,” he lamented to himself aloud. The tears stung his eyes as they gathered, blurring his vision, and he had to blink several times to clear his eyes enough to continue picking up the pieces. Even though it was obvious it was broken, he still couldn’t believe it.

“No,” he nearly sobbed. “It’s all I have left.”

Tears spilled over his cheeks, mixing with the rain that pelted his shivering body. Whether he was shivering from the cold, exhaustion, or simple emotion, he wasn’t sure. Sniffing, Ghirahim allowed himself to cry. He had no audience and no one would know but him, so he allowed himself this one thing.

“It’s all I have left,” he cried to himself as he finished gathering all the pieces, cupping them in his shaking hands and holding them against his chest. Sitting on his knees in the sopping wet grass, Ghirahim held the shattered gem against his heart, doubling over as if that could protect the item or undo the damage that had already occurred.

Forcing himself to pull it together, Ghirahim snapped, summoning a golden cloth bag that he slipped all of the pieces into. He would have to repair it later, but it would be repaired no matter what; there was simply no replacing it. It was completely and utterly irreplaceable.

Snapping the bag out of sight, Ghirahim sniffled as he pushed himself up, wiping his face with the edge of his mantle. He knew his eyes would be puffy and his makeup would be smeared, but he would fix that before he returned to Link’s room. Not that it mattered much anyway, considering how late it was; the hero was probably sleeping anyway.

With the rain continuing to drench him, Ghirahim wandered the grassy area gathering shock arrows. Several of them had been dropped in a bundle when the Lynel had collapsed, but twice that amount was spread out among the field; arrows were stuck in tree trucks, the grass, on top of rock formations.

Once he had gathered more than enough arrows, Ghirahim made his way back to Zora’s Domain. By the time he entered the room he shared with Link, he was completely exhausted. After wrapping all of the arrows up in a bundle and setting them on a table on the Hylian’s side of the room, Ghirahim made his way over to the dresser. Gazing at himself in the mirror, he couldn’t deny that he was a sorry sight.

The white of his lipstick and purple of his eyeshadow was smeared across his face, staining his pale features in a horrifying manner, while the cut across his face only enhanced the gruesome image. Taking a towel from one of the drawers, the demon undressed before wiping himself down, drying himself of the water that had soaked him through. Moving to his face, Ghirahim scrubbed the makeup off of his face - mindful of the cut - before reapplying it flawlessly. It was a little difficult with how exhausted he was, but he managed.

Looking tired but perfect, Ghirahim searched the dresser before coming up with a basic ointment. Applying a little to the end of his finger, he gently wiped it over the cut. It wasn’t substantial enough for the injury, but it would do until morning. When he was fully revitalized, he could deal with it then.

Stripping himself of his last piece of sticky, wet clothing, the demon changed into a pair of dry boxers before turning toward the bed. He had vaguely noticed Link’s presence on the plush mattress, but now he could see him fully. The blue light of the luminous stones cast a nearly perfect shade of blue onto his beautiful cream skin. Though the blue of the light was beautiful, the most beautiful was the shade of sapphire that was Link’s eyes.

Heaving a quiet sigh, Ghirahim slid into bed, pulling the silk sheet over his lower half. As he relaxed into the mattress, he rolled over to see Link. His body was limp, completely at peace as he slept, and his breathing was deep and peaceful. Bringing his hand up, Ghirahim let his fingertips gently brush away the dark golden hair from his face; the action was useless considering the hair immediately fell back into place, but the demon lord enjoyed the feeling of the strands beneath his fingers.

As his brown eyes eased closed, Ghirahim thought he saw Link gently mouth his name.


End file.
